Police pact may aid creditor battle

STOCKTON - City Manager Bob Deis said Friday that he looks forward to having a united front against Wall Street creditors in Stockton's bankruptcy fight if the police union agrees to a new contract.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - City Manager Bob Deis said Friday that he looks forward to having a united front against Wall Street creditors in Stockton's bankruptcy fight if the police union agrees to a new contract.

The Stockton Police Officers' Association is expected next week to begin voting on a new two-year deal with the city. The results, if passed by the union, could be made final Dec. 11 by a City Council vote.

The police union has been the last holdout of the city's nine bargaining units to strike new deals with City Hall since June 28, when the city filed for Chapter 9 protection.

"Having this deal, we can join hands and defend our position with the other creditors," Deis said. "It doesn't serve anybody's interest to have this thing hanging out without an agreement."

Deis and union representatives said they cannot divulge details of the tentative police contract. But they said that it should stem an exodus of senior police officers from the city's understaffed force.

The contract also maintains the status quo contract with California Public Employees' Retirement System, which manages the pensions of Stockton employees, such as the police officers.

Deis said that this contract up for a vote contains a mix of good and bad for both sides.

"To me that's the sign of a good contract deal when nobody gets everything they wanted," he said. "I made it very clear that employees have given their fair share and we're not going to be asking for more."

The financial creditors have a different opinion, said Deis, alluding to the institutions that stand to lose hundreds of millions they invested into Stockton. Upon filing bankruptcy, the city halted repayment on certain bonds, including one for $125 million issued in 2007 to pay CalPERS.

Sgt. Kathryn Nance, president of the police union, said the tentative contract is global, so - if passed - it would eliminate a $13 million lawsuit filed by the officers to recuperate cuts the city imposed on them.

Nance agreed that with all nine contracts in place, the city would have a stronger hand in court to force other creditors into a financial restructuring, called a plan of adjustment.

To pass, the contract would need a majority of the officers who vote. There are currently 335, and Nance is hoping for a big turnout.

"We do want to have a contract in the bankruptcy and a plan of adjustment to get the city out of bankruptcy as soon as possible," Nance said. "If this is the right contract to do that, that's up to my membership to decide."